Find Solutions To Sulu Claims Says Bumburing

The Federal Government must find a definite solution to the Sulu claims over Sabah even if it means bringing it to the International Court of Justice, said Tamparuli MP Datuk Wilfred Bumburing.
He said the answer to his question on Feb 23 for the reason the Malaysian Government continues paying RM5,300 annually to the Sulu Sultanate heirs was that it was a cession money based on the agreement between the British East India Company and Sulu Sultan in 1878.
It was also based on the 1939 McKaskie Judgement in the North Borneo Court, he said in his debate on the motion of thanks to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's policy speech in Parliament here.
However, Bumburing asked the relevance between the 1878 agreement and formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
"Is it a kind of lease? Is this a recognised lease and inherited by Malaysia?
The answer given to me is that the (McKaskie) judgement was purely civil and has no effect on the sovereignty of Sabah in the Federation," he said.
But, he said, if the Government continues to pay the so-called annual cession money of RM5,300, Sabah's total sovereignty in Malaysia is still questionable.
He said the Sulu Sultanate heirs are still claiming Sabah and now they had issued birth certificates to their people in Sabah, while a Home Ministry-approved newspaper in Tausug language is also in publication in Sabah.
"We want a definite solution to this matter. If necessary, bring it up to the International Court of Justice.
"Sabahans together with the Sarawakians have decided in 1963 to form the Federation of Malaysia and, therefore, no quarters from outside the country can deny this," he said.
He said Malaysians in Sabah would fight for the sovereignty till the end and that they were fortunate to have made the right decision to be together in Malaysia.
Bumburing also said the issue of social contract was not really relevant to the people of Sabah and Sarawak but rather the Malaysia Agreement, which was the basis for the formation of Malaysia.
He said after 50 years of independence, the leaders should be basing the discussion on the people's problem in the whole country and not only focusing on Peninsular Malaysia.
"Sometimes we in Sabah and Sarawak feel like we are merely audiences watching operas being acted out by the races in Peninsular Malaysia," he said, adding that misleading statements like "in all Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak" was always being used.
"That is why we cannot be blamed when MPs from Sabah and Sarawak sometimes are too vociferous in voicing out problems from Sabah and Sarawak," he said.
In another note, Bumburing urged the relevant authorities, particularly the police, to leave no stone unturned in the investigation of the land dispute in Tingkayu, Kunak that saw one man being murdered and claims of illegal immigrants being involved.
He also appealed to the Education Ministry to fulfil its promise to build a secondary school in Pekan Nabalu as they was talk that the site had been shifted elsewhere due to the unstable land in Nabalu.